The Queen's Head, A Heartwood Inn — Restaurant in Elmbridge

We arrived at the new year’s Eve as we had made a reservation at 6:00 pm. We got there 15 mins after as we couldn’t find the parking spot. Once we arrived, the manager seated us and and handed the menus. After that he straight away told us so you have the table reserved till 8, which we didn’t find it very welcoming. After a while the server took our orders. Our drinks and starters arrived first. The server didn’t ask for our mains orders at the same time, which we had to wait to order again once we finished our starters. Once she took our main orders, our meal arrived which was lovely. We were really happy with the food. We finished our mains around 7:30, waited for the server to clear up so we could order some desserts. After 5 mins the server came to our table , took our plates away and we asked for the desserts menu. The menus were promptly delivered to us. Then after 2 mins the manager Michael comes to our table and tells us we have only 20 mins left. We said we were ready to order if I could place an order with him, which he said was okay. As soon as I ordered, pistachio soufflé , he said you can’t have that , it’s going to take 20 mins in a very abrupt way. I was really shocked to hear his response. After that , I immediately said , I don’t want anything else instead we would like the bill which I think that’s exactly what he wanted. He said okay , took our menus and walked off. We were immensely disappointed with the way he handled the situation. He didn’t even apologised once and offered us any other alternative desserts which I would have understood and have gone for the quicker option. The whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth. From the time we arrived we felt like we were being rushed by the manager as later I noticed he didn’t go to any other tables, telling other customers, the specific time they have to leave. It was just our table that’s when I personally felt we were discriminated just because the way how we look. Honestly, what an awful new year’s...

10 of us arrived at 3.30pm for my husband's birthday meal and the starters came out in a timely manner although my mushroom fricasse was disappointing as the mushrooms were undercooked and flavourless and the wine wasn't cooked out of the sauce. The cheese souffle and snails were tasty though. We then watched other diners get food whilst we waited somewhere between 1.5 and 2 hours for our mains which I understand is because staff didn't clear our starter plates for an hour after we finished and alert the kitchen we were ready. The manager apologised but told me we had two options "leave hungry or wait 10 more minutes for food". When the food did arrive, I couldn't eat the beef roast because it was disgusting. The meat was like shoe leather and smelt awful! We were told it was because the kitchen ran out of beef so they cut a fillet steak and charred it. My mother in law is diabetic and was close to having a hypo due to the wait and we had our 9 month old baby with us who was overtired although she was very well behaved. Whilst I appreciate that my mother in law's food was rushed through and the manager took most drinks and some of the meals off of the bill, we ended up leaving bitterly disappointed and I was in tears. We had had a lovely day at Brooklands Museum beforehand for my husband's birthday but we left hungry, ate at different times and it was too late for my in-laws to come back for cake. Whilst I appreciate the discounts offered and the apology at the end, spending £20 a head for this experience still felt offensive and I had to ask for the service charge to be removed from the bill. I know things go wrong but all in all, this was a DISASTER!

Update: The General Manager, Michael treated this situation with sensitivity and has very kindly arranged for us to have a meal at The Reigate branch to make up for this experience, which we are very...

I don’t usually like leaving bad reviews — I believe if you haven’t got anything nice to say, it’s better not to say anything at all. However, I felt I needed to share our experience today, which was disappointing.

We’ve previously been to one of your sister pubs, The Ropemaker, and had a lovely time, so we had high hopes for today. Credit where it’s due: the food was excellent. Unfortunately, the service let the experience down.

We were asked to pre-order, which was fine. But once we were seated, everything felt rushed. Starters were served quickly, then cleared before some of us had even finished. The same happened with the mains — one member of our group was still eating when their plate was almost taken away.

After dessert, we were considering ordering coffees, only to be told the table was needed for another booking — something we hadn’t been informed about until that moment. The bill was abruptly placed on the table, and we were asked to settle up immediately. When we pointed out we hadn’t been told there was a time limit and still wanted coffees, we were reluctantly allowed to stay.

Once we had made our feelings clear about keeping the table, it very much felt like we were no longer welcome. At one point, I was even told to move my chair in — despite barely being in anyone’s way. When the coffees eventually came, they were practically slammed down in front of us.

Overall, I felt rushed and unwelcome throughout the meal. It’s a shame, because the food was great, and we were simply hoping for a relaxed family meal — especially given today’s prices. Unfortunately, the service made us feel more like a burden than valued guests.

It’s disappointing, especially knowing how good the experience at The Ropemaker was. Sadly, I won’t...